


Möbius

by Just_Some_Random_Person



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Be gentle, Canon-Typical Homophobia, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical language, M/M, My First Fanfic, Sober!Frank, basically for want of a nail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 06:56:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4994626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Some_Random_Person/pseuds/Just_Some_Random_Person
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Frank Gallagher stops drinking, it changes the course of his children’s lives forever. Some things, however, are inevitable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Was rewatching the series and started thinking about the bet Lip talks about in 1x08 and how good of a father Frank was to them during that episode. It's un-beta'd and pretty crappy, but what can you do? *shrugs*

Ian shivered lightly in the brisk September air, regretting his decision not to wear a jacket. When he’d checked the weather the day before, it had said that the temperature would be well into the seventies by the time he and Jake and the rest of their friends got to the zoo for their monthly Broke Teenagers Can Have Fun Too Extravaganza, but they’d been here for over two hours already, and it had barely hit 55. So much for accurate weather forecasting.

 

He continued his quest to distract himself from the cold by staring down the zebra and antelope exhibit and guessing which of the animals, if any, were gay. It wasn’t the most imaginative of games considering his own sexuality, but it was certainly entertaining. When he’d come out to his family two years ago at 13, Lip had taken it in true supportive asshole fashion and made Ian watch this documentary about gay animals in the wild. He’d also told Ian stories about Juvie and how half the guys inside were banging each other out of sexual frustration. Zoos were pretty much animal penitentiaries, so it wasn’t too wild to think at least some of these creatures were screwing their same-sex brethren to relieve tension. Or maybe Ian was getting _way_ too into this game and trying to logic his way around any potential naysayers (not that he was planning on telling anyone about this).

 

It didn’t matter either way; no one was paying attention to him. Whenever his whole group of friends gathered together, Ian tended to sort of fade away, for lack of a better term.

 

Like now, for instance. The rest of the group was clustered together, and most of them seemed to be laughing about something that Grace had said and that Ian couldn’t hear. He’d smiled and chuckled a little when some of them had turned his way but had quickly gone back to his game. Sometimes he regretted that he came to these outings when he knew he’d never get a chance to say anything, but that regret was always followed by swift and powerful waves of guilt so he generally pushed it aside as quickly as he could. Really though, he wished that for once they’d do something that didn’t require all of them to assemble en masse.

 

The group started to move on towards the kangaroo enclosure, and Ian sighed, giving one last glance to the potentially-gay antelope he’d been eyeing. Jake fell into step beside him and quietly asked, “You okay?” in a worried tone.

 

“Yeah, of course,” Ian said. Giving a sly glance to the front, he reached his hand out slowly and brushed Jake’s fingers where they dangled by his side. Jake shoved his hands into his pockets and skooched over, throwing Ian an apologetic smile after looking around furtively. Well, at least Jake hadn’t run away and started loudly making gay jokes like he had the last time Ian had tried for some PDA. Still, Jake probably wouldn’t talk to him for the rest of the trip, leaving Ian with exactly zero people in the surrounding 35 acres of animal prison who gave a shit that he was here. Fantastic.

 

He had picked up his game again with the kangaroos when an arm looped through his. Ian turned his head to find a girl he didn’t know pushing herself into his side and giving him a flirty smile while saying, “Just go with it,” in a low voice. She pulled him around until they were facing a middle-aged man with a large mustache and multiple chins who looked very disgruntled.

 

“See,” the girl said, “here he is. You really don’t need to _escort_ me around. My boyfriend’s got it covered.” She tossed another flirty smile Ian’s way and tightened her arm. An instinct cultivated from years of following Lip’s lead without actually knowing what was going on allowed Ian to paste an easy smile on his face. “I was wondering where you were, uh, babe,” he stumbled out, “I thought I’d lost you in the crowd.”

 

“Nah, I just needed to use the bathroom. You’re sweet to worry, though.” The girl leaned her head on Ian’s shoulder, closing her eyes while her multi-colored hair fell in front of her face. The unhappy man with the mustache walked away grumbling something that sounded like “fucking gingers” under his breath. The girl held her position for a few more seconds before nuzzling up near Ian’s ear and asking, “Is he gone yet?”

 

“Uh, yeah,” Ian replied. The girl released him finally and immediately began to put her hair back in place.

 

“Thank God! I saw him before I went into the bathroom, and he was still there when I came out. Creepy pervert tried to look up my skirt when I was getting a drink at the water fountain and than followed me to the flamingos. He said he wanted to make sure I wasn’t by myself so I told him I was with my boyfriend. Honestly, I almost just beat him up even though I’d have been kicked out. Lucky I saw you here, huh?” She had finished with her hair and the flirty smile was back. “I’m Mandy,” she added.

 

“I’m Ian,” he said, “I’m glad I could help. Sorry you had to deal with that. I mean, he was pretty creepy even without the whole ‘following you around’ thing; that just made it worse. Did he really think you wouldn’t notice?”

 

“Probably. Didn’t seem too smart. Anyway,” she stepped close to him again, this time pressing her front to his and raising an eyebrow in suggestion, “ _Ian_ , what do you say you walk with me for a while? You know, in case that creepo comes back?”

 

“Actually, I’m sort of-“ he turned his head to where his friends had been before, only to see the tail end of the group heading around the bend towards the camels. Considering his options for a second, Ian turned back to Mandy with a, “Sure. Why not?”

 

 

***

 

They made small talk as they walked. Mandy explained how difficult it was to get privacy in a house with a big family (Ian understood that and told her so) and said the only real places she could go and not have to see her brothers or father without spending money were the zoo or the library. Ian told her about moving out of the Southside when he was 11 to an only slightly less shady neighborhood, and how it hadn’t changed much about his family except the schools they went to and how often they got carded.

 

They’d gotten two-thirds of the way through the reptile house before it finally came up.

 

“So how come you don’t have a girlfriend?”

 

Luckily, Ian had been prepared for this from the first coy look Mandy had sent him. “What makes you think I don’t have one?”

 

“Well, no one ran up to tell me to back off when I was leaning on you earlier. Plus, if you had a girlfriend, there is no way you would’ve been by yourself in the first place.”

 

“Maybe she trusts me.”

 

“Not enough to let you walk off with me, she doesn’t. Not unless she’s a moron.”

 

“Hey, don’t call the girlfriend I might have a moron.”

 

“Oh, you _definitely_ do not have a girlfriend. Which means this could probably count as our first date, if you think about it.”

 

“Um, not- not really.”

 

Ian had been focusing on the animals for a while, but he glanced at Mandy’s face after he stuttered this out. She did not look happy.

 

“Why not?”

 

“Um…well, it’s just that-“ he stopped, glancing around nervously. Ian wasn’t ashamed of his sexuality. But it had been two years since he’d just come out and said it (no pun intended) to someone, and he’d never actually told anyone who wasn’t family except for Jake, who didn’t really count. Plus, he’d just met Mandy, and she seemed cool, but you could never know for sure how someone was going to react when you told them that not only did you have a dick but that you also liked dick exclusively.

 

He took a deep breath. “I’m gay.”

 

“…oh. Really?”

 

“Yeah,” he smiled awkwardly.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“Yeah. What, did you think I was gonna freak out or something?”

 

“I don’t know. I mean, you are Southside. I know what Southside’s like for guys like me.”

 

“I guess you’re right, but you don’t have to worry. Although, I wouldn’t bring it up around my brothers. Or my dad. Or literally anyone else from my neighborhood.”

 

She gave him a side-eye before taking his hand in hers. Ian glanced down but let it happen. “So what are you doing here by yourself? Cruising for guys?”

 

“At the zoo?” Ian laughed. “No. I’m actually here with friends, but I think they forgot about me while I was helping you out with that guy.” Mandy gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s okay. I didn’t really wanna come in the first place, but I felt bad. It’s sort of a tradition we started in middle school to find places we could have fun without having to spend money, but it’s really only continued because of me.”  That was probably the smoothest way Ian had ever managed to talk about being poor.

 

“That’s shitty. If they’re doing it for you, they shouldn’t ditch you. Maybe _they_ think you’re looking for guys to hook up with.”

 

He coughed. “No, they uh- they don’t know I’m gay.”

 

“Wait, so you told a complete stranger from a neighborhood that has pictures in the dictionary next to the word homophobic, but you haven’t told your friends?”

 

Jake’s face flashed through Ian’s head. “It’s complicated.”

 

“I’ve got time.”

 

“There’s…this guy-“

 

Mandy cut him off with a laugh. “How did I know it was going to start that way?”

 

“Shut up,” Ian said, elbowing her in the side gently, “Anyway, we’ve known each other since I moved to the neighborhood, and we have- a thing. But he’s not ready to come out yet and-“

 

“And he thinks that if you’re out and he spends time with you, everyone will just assume he’s gay.”

 

“Basically.”

 

“Sounds pretty fuckin’ lousy to me.”

 

“No, it’s just…” Ian stopped and thought about how Jake ignored him in public, how he would barely even speak to Ian if there were more than one or two other people nearby. “Yeah. Yeah, it is pretty lousy.”

 

Mandy didn’t say anything as they left the reptile house, just released his hand and cuddled into him, keeping at least his right side protected from the cold. They walked towards the bears, and Ian explained his gay animal game to a laughing Mandy. He pointed out the two bears he’d decided were gay when he and his friends had passed through, while Mandy insisted that the smaller of the two was definitely bisexual (“Look at the way he’s staring down that female bear. He’s definitely bi.” “Mandy, _she_ is a female looking at another female bear. You’re literally proving my point”).  It was probably the most fun Ian had had in a while and definitely the most fun he’d had today.

 

His phone buzzed with a text, and he fished it out of his pocket.

 

**From Jake:** where r u? we’re at monkeys and might leave soon

 

He considered just telling them to go ahead without him for a moment, but thought that might be even shittier than them forgetting him in the first place. He texted a half-meant apology and a promise to meet them at the lions before putting his phone back in his pocket.

 

“I gotta go. My friends have finally noticed that I’m gone.”

 

She looked disappointed, but pulled out her phone and handed it to him. “Here, give me your number.”

 

Ian smiled and typed it into her contacts under “Ian (The Zoo Guy)” and handed it back before reluctantly saying goodbye.

 

He waited fifteen minutes by the lions before he saw his friends. He sidled up next to Jake and quietly said, “Sorry. This girl asked for my help with something, and I couldn’t say no. Didn’t mean to worry you guys.”

 

Jake chuckled. “Always the hero,” he said, shoving Ian playfully, “And don’t worry; I think I’m the only one who realized you were gone.”

 

Ian knew Jake was probably trying to make him feel better, but knowing that only one person out of 10 had realized he was missing ruined the good mood he’d come back with. He should’ve stayed with Mandy.

 

He gave a vague “good” in reply before immediately pulling out his phone so he wouldn’t have to look at Jake and realizing he had a text from an unknown number.

 

**From unknown:** it’s mandy. Have fun with your shitty friends, fuckass.

 

Ian laughed and quickly texted back.

 

**To unknown:** is that a gay joke?

 

**From unknown:** yes. and I changed your name in my phone to “the zoo gay” fyi

 

**To unknown:** classy. Hope your brothers don’t see that.

 

**From unknown:** don’t worry the zoo and I will protect you. Gingers are an endangered species

 

They kept up their conversation through the rest of the day, and Ian didn’t even notice the glares Jake kept sending at him as he smiled down at his phone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, it happened. I actually wrote the second chapter. Consider it an Easter miracle.

By the time October rolled in, Ian and Mandy were officially best friends. They talked almost non-stop via text, to the point where all of his friends assumed the two were dating. After the first few denials, he’d given up, mostly because bringing Mandy to both of the parties he’d been to since meeting her was admittedly suspect. Mandy had been entirely unhelpful and had even changed her name in his phone to “The Girlfriend” without him noticing.

 

The only real downside was that Jake had been giving Ian shit about how much time Mandy and him spent together. Ian had thought it would be better for them, given how Jake freaked at the idea of people finding out either of them was gay, but apparently not. Still, it never stopped Ian from texting her during school or while he was with his other friends, or from changing his plans so he could hang out with Mandy. It wasn’t as if Jake made that much of an effort anymore to spend time with Ian beyond hooking up.

 

Ian was particularly excited about today, and not just because he’d smoked a full bowl by himself and weed always made him giddy and keyed up, but because he was finally going to see Mandy’s house. It was probably a little lame, but he’d been anticipating it ever since she’d come over the week before. Ian was used to feeling awkward when he had friends over the first couple of times. All of his friends from school generally got the same looks on their faces once they realized that he lived in that neighborhood, that he shared a room with his two little brothers, and that curse words were a staple in the vocabularies of every Gallagher family member. Once they got used to it, it was fine, but it still stung those first few times when he had to be reminded that his home life wasn’t anything like theirs. 

 

Mandy had been different, though. She hadn’t gone tense when they walked into his neighborhood, and the only comment she’d made about his house was, “How the fuck did you manage to fit that crib in that corner?” It had been a little uncomfortable when Frank had shown up because, well, Ian was always uncomfortable around his father, but Mandy had simply dragged him out to the backyard with a couple of beers. It was without a doubt the most normal “here’s where I live” experience Ian had had in years, and while he was well aware that it made him a dork, he was so excited to go to a friend’s house where he wouldn’t be given the side-eye by parents who knew where he lived, or deal with mutual embarrassment as they tried to downplay all the nice things they had while he tried to pretend they weren’t just drawing attention to those things. He wasn’t sure that Mandy had ever had any friends who’d look around her house like they were about to be mugged, but in case she had, he was eager to repay her unintentional favor and completely not give a shit where she lived in return.

 

They were in line at some food truck they’d seen on their way to the El. Smoking and going to the conservatory may have been a fantastic idea, but it gave both of them an overwhelming case of the munchies. The day had been awesome, aside from a couple smug Northside assholes Ian had had to tell off for harassing Mandy. She probably could have handled them herself, but she had warned him before they’d lit up that weed tended to make her emotional and easily influenced, and Ian liked feeling useful, so he’d stepped in. He’d even got to use a couple of insults he’d stolen from Lip’s repertoire.  


 

They headed to the El with their food and somehow managed to time it perfectly so the train was there once they crossed the barrier. Ian took a huge bite of his burger and stared excitedly out the window from his seat on the train. Chicago really was a beautiful place. Why had he never appreciated that before? He should learn to love his city and all it had to offer. He really wanted to share it with Mandy, too, but when he looked over she was twitching in her seat and staring down at her cheese-and-bacon fries with a sad frown.

 

“What’s wrong? Don’t like your food?” Ian would’ve thought it was impossible to be unhappy with cheese-and-bacon fries, but that might’ve been the pot talking.

 

“No, they’re good. I’m good. Everything’s-“ she stopped abruptly, and then, “do you wanna go to your house instead of mine?”

 

Ian frowned around his mouthful of burger. “No, I wanna see your house. Why?”

 

She wouldn’t look him in the eyes. “It’s nothing, I guess. Just…are you sure it’s a good idea for you to come to my neighborhood?”

 

He was confused for a moment but his face fell as a thought hit him. “Mandy…did you tell someone that I’m gay?”

 

She whipped her head up at that, obviously offended. “What? No! I would never do that!”

 

“Well, then tell me what’s going on, because you’re kind of freaking me out here!”

 

Mandy stared at him for a while seeming sad again, before she looked back at the food on her lap. “…no one’s ever been this nice to me before. No one’s ever taken me places, and bought me food, and- and stood up to other people for me. 

 

“The guys I mess around with, they just assume they’ll get what they want without any of that, which, I guess it’s true, ‘cause that’s mostly all I’m interested in from them, but they don’t even try, ya’ know? And my friends, the girls I hang out with at school? They’d never jump in to defend me like you did. I don’t really need them to. I never have; it- it just-“ 

 

She struggled with the words for a few seconds before Ian put his hand over hers. “It would mean something if they actually wanted to,” he said. 

 

Mandy turned her hand over and laced their fingers together. “Yeah. Yeah, it would.” She gripped his hand tightly in hers and sighed. “I know your old house was only a couple blocks from mine, but my place, well, it’s a shithole. I mean, my dad’s not exactly dedicated to housekeeping, and my mom cares more about meth than she does about basically anything, so.” She trailed off before starting again. “I guess I don’t want you to start thinking I’m not worth the trouble just because of where I come from.”

 

Ian started at that, gripping Mandy’s hand back just as tightly as she had his. “Mandy,” he said, waiting until she met his eyes to continue, “I will never think that. Ever. I know we haven’t been friends that long, but you know that’s not who I am. When I tell people at my school where I used to live, or even where I live now, they look at me like I’m about to steal their wallet. 

 

“I know what it feels like to have people see where you come from and think they know everything about you. And I know that it’s complete bullshit. You’re a really great person Mandy; I know that, and I wouldn’t stop believing it whether you lived in a mansion or in an alley behind a liquor store.”

 

There were tears in her eyes, and she buried her face in his shoulder for a minute while she pulled herself together. 

 

“Don’t you dare let those shitheads look at you like you’re trash,” she said, hard to make out with her mouth pressed against his coat. “You’re better than all of them. You’re the best person I’ve ever met, Ian Gallagher. And whatever happens, wherever we end up, I’ll be there for you.” She sat up and sniffled a little, wiping her eyes. “I mean it. I don’t care if you end up with some fancy job or a- a sugar daddy that takes you to the other side of the world. If you need me, I will do whatever it takes.”

 

Ian couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face. He felt so light and happy, and he knew it had nothing to do with the drugs in his system and everything to do with the best friend he’d ever had (maybe even better than Lip, though he would never dare say that when said brother was around). He let go of Mandy’s hand finally, but only so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders. 

 

She laughed quietly. “I’m sorry. Pot makes me weird and emotional.”

 

“It’s okay. No judgment, honestly.”

 

“I mean it though. Anytime, anyplace. I’m there.”

 

Ian squeezed her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. “I’ll remember that.”

 

***

 

Ian honestly hadn’t thought he’d be taking Mandy up on her promise so soon, but there was nowhere else he could go.

 

Monica. Even thinking her name made him feel like he couldn’t breathe. She’d always been unpredictable, wild, and when she’d run out on them two years ago, Ian had not been nearly as surprised as he should have been. But now she was back. Back with some girlfriend and talking about taking Liam, getting married again, and starting a new family, a whole new set of lives she could ruin.

 

He kept running, not even bothering to stop at the turnstile for the El, simply jumping the barrier and rushing straight onto the train. He could see the transit cop running towards him through the windows, but they were already leaving the station. He bounced up and down where he stood next to the pole, thinking he should have just run the whole way to Mandy’s house instead of using the El. It was only a couple stops anyway.

 

He should have stayed at the house, made sure Debbie and Carl and Liam were okay. He couldn’t, though; he just couldn’t. He couldn’t handle Lip’s sneers or Frank’s misery or Debbie’s tears. He was supposed to be the strong one, the one everyone could rely on or come to for comfort, but this time Ian was the one who needed comfort; and he wasn’t going to get that at home.

 

Just thinking that made a harsh wave of guilt run through him. Ian loved his family more than anything. They had always stood by him and believed in him. It wasn’t like he didn’t know that or appreciate it. But Ian wasn’t a priority. It was one of the major drawbacks of being stable and self-sufficient: everyone assumed that he never needed help or encouragement unless he asked for it. They all thought that just because he would rather handle most of his problems on his own than inconvenience the family, all he needed was a pat on the back or a smile every once in a while, even when he was falling apart inside.

 

It had been like that for as long as he could remember. When Frank had fallen off the wagon two years ago and gone on a week-long bender because their mom had left, Ian had been nearly out of his mind with worry. But the only thing he’d had to keep him going were the things he’d heard Fiona say to Debbie or Carl, sometimes even Lip. When it was all over and Frank had sat them down in the living room to apologize, he’d gone through everything he’d shouted at Lip or Fiona and told them he was sorry for every word; he never said a thing to Ian, though. Just gave Ian a sad smile and a head nod, as though Frank’s words weren’t bouncing around in Ian’s brain for months after it was over. 

 

As soon as the train stopped, Ian was off of it. Mandy’s house was still a few blocks away but he raced there like he was running the track at ROTC. He bolted up the steps to the front porch and pounded on the door, trying to catch his breath. He felt like he was hyperventilating, like he had been since Monica came back. No one was answering so Ian banged on the door even harder this time, not letting up until it opened, with a voice from the inside saying, “What the fuck?”

 

Ian almost stopped breathing entirely. In front of him was a boy who looked vaguely like Mandy, probably one of her brothers, and who had some of the most beautiful eyes Ian had ever seen. The boy’s face was smudged with dirt, and he was wearing a light brown sweater and a prominent scowl. “Who the fuck are you?” he asked, his short, stocky body somehow filling the doorway, as an unintelligible yell came from inside.

 

Ian swallowed and focused. “Is Mandy here? I need to see her,” he said. When the boy raised an eyebrow, looking thoroughly unimpressed, he added, “Ian; I’m Ian, her uh- her boyfriend.”

 

The boy gave him an appraising glance up and down, then turned around and slammed the door in Ian’s face. Ian exhaled a shaky breath. Maybe Mandy wasn’t home, but if not, what was he going to do? He looked at his phone but there were no texts from his family asking where he’d gone, and all of the ones he’d frantically sent to Jake before he left were still unanswered. He paced on the porch, running his hands through his hair. Maybe he could text Mandy and ask where she was; he should’ve done that in the first place.

 

Suddenly, the door opened again, and Mandy stepped out onto the porch from inside, yelling over her shoulder, “Shut up, I’m fucking GOING!” As soon as she turned to face him, Ian was pulling her into his arms, clinging to her and burying his face in her hair. He felt her tense, briefly, before she hugged him back and let out a confused, “Ian, what-?”

 

Ian sniffed and pulled back so he could look at her. “I’m sorry. I-“ He stopped, unsure what to say before finally finishing, “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

 

Mandy’s face fell into a sympathetic moue, and she pulled him down to sit on the steps, dropping gracefully next to him. “What happened?” she asked.

 

And without intending to, Ian let it all out. Not just about Monica and her new family plans, but about Frank and the tension between them, everything Ian’s father had said to him when he came home drunk two years ago. How inadequate Lip and Fiona and Debbie and Carl and even sometimes Liam made him feel in comparison. How his only distinction was his similarities to his mother: the same smile, the same laugh, same nose and eyes. How afraid he was that he’d end up with the same mind. How guilty he’d feel if it were one of the others instead. Years of pain and baggage, unloaded like a garbage truck at the city dump. And Mandy sat there through all of it, fingers laced with Ian’s like they’d been designed to fit together.

 

At the end, she muttered, “Damn,” obviously not knowing what to say. There was nothing to say, really, and Ian wasn’t sure why he’d done that to her, put all that on her like they were her problems. Still, she didn’t seem to be confused or bored or shocked, simply overwhelmed with the amount of information she had to take in all at once. It was a relief, in a lot of ways, knowing that he had been right in coming to her, another burden lifted from his weighted shoulders.

 

It was quiet between them for a few moments, and she squeezed Ian’s hand tightly before turning to him and saying, “Anything else?” a half-smile on her face in an attempt to lighten the mood.

 

Ian laughed softly. “Not really…your brother’s kinda hot.”

 

“What?” Mandy said, scandalized. Ian grinned.

 

“Yeah, the one who answered the door? Definitely sexy.”

 

Mandy’s face screwed up in disgust and she punched Ian in the arm with the hand that wasn’t holding his. “Mickey?! Ugh, gross! You can’t be that upset if you’re still cruising for guys. Or maybe this has fucked with your head so badly you’ll only go after dirty, smelly shitheads.”

 

“Who knows? I should probably get his number, just in case it’s permanent.”

 

She hit him again, laughing. “Why are we even friends? You better not let him hear you talking like that. Even if he didn’t automatically realize you’re gay, he’d still beat the shit out of you just for saying it.”

 

Ian was about to make a slightly crass joke, before a sound from the side of the house startled them both. Mandy turned and seemed to instinctively shield Ian with her body as he held his breath and waited for who it was. It was pretty clear they were both thinking the same thing: what if someone had heard them?

 

From around the corner slouched the same boy who’d opened the door (Mickey, Mandy had called him). His hands were buried in the pockets of his jeans, and he somehow looked both bored and tense at the same time. “‘Ey,” he said, “when you’re done having your little girltalk session, you need to come in the back way. Dad’s on the couch.” 

 

Mandy adopted that same uninterested-yet-on-edge demeanor (it must’ve been a Milkovich thing) before saying, “How would you know what kind of talk we were having, Mickey? Eavesdropping?”

 

Mickey scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I didn’t hear shit, bitch. But that little hand-holding routine you’ve got going on doesn’t make it hard to guess. You on the rag, firecrotch? Need to talk about your feelings?”

 

“Oh, fuck off, Mickey,” Mandy said, finally relaxing. “I’ll be in in a minute, so just get the fuck out of here.” Mickey sauntered away, flipping them off over his shoulder.

 

“Sorry about him,” Mandy said, “But at least we know he didn’t hear anything. He’d have been all over you if he’d caught on that you’re-“ she glanced around them “-well, you know.”

 

Ian smiled as they stood up from the step. He tightened his grip on their still-intertwined hands before letting go and shuffling backwards, unexpectedly self-conscious now that the moment was over. “Um, thanks, Mandy. I really appreciate you listening to me vent about all this. It means a lot.”

 

“What are girlfriends for?” she said, a soft look on her face. “I’ll call you later, okay? You still work closing tonight?”

 

Ian gasped and whipped his phone out of his pocket. “Shit, I’m gonna be late. I’ve gotta’ change into my uniform still. Fuck.” He slid the phone back into his pocket, kissed Mandy on the forehead, and vaulted down the steps and towards the El. He ran backwards for a few feet, calling out, “Bye Mandy!” before hurrying to catch the train. 

 

And as he stood in the back of the restaurant getting chewed out by his manager, Ian thought not of all the ridiculous shit that had happened that day, but of a kind face and a reassuring hand gripping his (and, oddly, a pair of blue eyes above a dirt-smeared cheek, but he would be keeping that to himself, so what did it matter).

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is actually free to the public. Critiques are appreciated, especially about characterization.


End file.
